Guides / Customs procedure 42 · Updated 30 September 2026

Customs procedure 42: VAT-exempt import and onward EU supply

Customs procedure 42 is an EU arrangement that lets goods from outside the EU, including from the UK, enter one member state without import VAT when they are going straight on to a buyer in another member state. Here is how it works, what the importer must provide, and why UK exporters should understand it.

This guide is also available in Polish.

What customs procedure 42 is

Customs procedure 42 is an EU arrangement, not a UK one. It covers a specific journey: goods arrive from outside the EU into one member state (say, Poland), are released for free circulation there, and then travel on to a buyer in a second member state (say, Germany or the Czech Republic). Instead of paying import VAT in the country where the goods first enter, the importer claims an exemption on import, because the next step is itself an exempt intra-EU supply.

The European Commission describes this in its list of VAT exemptions as the importation of goods into one EU country "en route for" another EU country where the dispatch or transport ends, where the importer's subsequent supply is exempt as an intra-EU supply or intra-EU transfer. In plain terms, VAT is not collected at the border of the first country; it is accounted for in the country where the goods finish their journey, by the buyer there.

Since the UK left the EU, goods shipped from Great Britain to an EU customer are imports into the EU. That is why procedure 42 now matters to UK sellers, even though no UK authority runs it and nothing about it appears in a UK export declaration.

Why it matters for UK exporters

A common pattern for UK businesses is to route lorries through one EU port or hub and deliver to customers spread across several member states. Without procedure 42, whoever acts as importer in the country of entry pays that country's import VAT and then has to recover it, which ties up cash and may require a VAT registration there. With procedure 42, the import VAT is exempted at entry, provided the conditions are met, and the tax is dealt with where the goods are actually consumed.

It is worth being clear about who uses the procedure. The exemption is claimed by the importer in the EU, and it is linked to that importer making an onward intra-EU supply. A UK seller that is not the importer of record, for example one selling on terms where the EU buyer imports, will usually not use procedure 42 at all. A UK seller that does act as importer in the EU needs to look at whether it can meet the VAT conditions below. The procedure also sits alongside ordinary customs duty rules: it concerns import VAT, so duty is still dealt with on release for free circulation in the usual way, and your UK export side (see our guide to customs procedure codes) is unaffected.

The conditions set by EU law

According to the European Commission, the importer must provide the following to the customs authorities of the member state of import at the time of importation:

• its own VAT identification number issued in the member state of import, or the VAT number of its tax representative there;
• the VAT identification number of the customer to whom the goods are supplied in the other member state (or, for a transfer of own goods, the importer's own VAT number in the member state of destination);
• evidence that the imported goods are intended to be transported or dispatched from the member state of import to another member state.

These requirements are part of the exemptions set out in the EU VAT Directive (2006/112/EC). Each member state applies them through its own VAT law and customs systems, so the exact data fields and documents are set nationally.

How it looks when the goods enter through Poland

Polish tax guidance on podatki.gov.pl frames the onward leg as an intra-Community supply of goods (known in Polish as WDT). For that supply to be taxed at the 0% rate, the guidance sets out three main conditions:

• A valid EU VAT number for the buyer. The buyer must hold a proper and valid identification number for intra-Community transactions, with the two-letter country prefix, and must give it to the supplier.
• Evidence that the goods left Poland. The supplier must hold documents that unambiguously confirm the goods were taken out of Poland and delivered to the buyer in another member state. The guidance lists transport documents from the carrier or forwarder and supporting evidence such as orders, invoices, insurance or freight cost documents and proof of payment or receipt.
• EU VAT registration of the supplier. The supplier must be registered as an EU VAT taxpayer when it files the return that reports the supply.

The same guidance says these supplies are reported in the JPK_VAT file together with the VAT return, and in the recapitulative statement (informacja podsumowująca, form VAT-UE). The recapitulative statement is how the Polish tax authority tells the destination country which buyer received which goods, so the buyer can account for the VAT there.

A worked outline

Imagine a UK manufacturer selling machine parts to a German customer, with the lorry clearing EU customs in Poland because that is where the importer is established.

1. The UK side files the export declaration and the goods leave Great Britain.
2. In Poland, the importer's customs agent lodges an import declaration with a procedure code beginning with 42, giving the importer's Polish VAT number, the German customer's VAT number and evidence that the goods are going on to Germany.
3. Customs duty is dealt with on release for free circulation; import VAT is exempted because of the onward supply.
4. The importer supplies the goods to the German customer as an intra-Community supply, keeps the transport evidence, and reports the supply in JPK_VAT and the VAT-UE recapitulative statement.
5. The German customer accounts for VAT on its intra-Community acquisition in Germany.

For a fuller walk-through of the Polish side, including how the code sits on the declaration, see this explanation of how customs procedure 4200 works when importing through Poland.

When procedure 42 is not the right tool

Procedure 42 assumes the goods are released for free circulation in the first member state. If you want to delay customs formalities until the goods reach the destination country, transit is the usual alternative: the goods move under a T1 transit declaration and are cleared at the end of the journey (see our T1 transit guide). Which route suits you depends on where the importer is VAT registered, where the buyer is, and who carries the paperwork risk. If you are unsure whether you need an agent in the EU at all, start with do you need a customs broker.

Related guides

• Northern Ireland and the Windsor Framework: a guide for traders

• Customs procedure codes (CPC) on UK declarations explained

• Exporting food supplements from the UK to Poland

Sources

• VAT exemptions: other exemptions (European Commission)
• Intra-Community supply of goods (WDT) (podatki.gov.pl, in Polish)

General information, not legal, tax or customs advice. Rules change; confirm current requirements on gov.uk or with a registered agent before you ship.